[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 32 (Monday, March 21, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 21, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
      NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION GREAT LAKES 
                            IMPROVEMENTS ACT

  Mr. STUDDS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1394) to improve coordination of National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration Great Lakes activities, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 1394

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``National Oceanic and 
     Atmospheric Administration Great Lakes Improvements Act''.

     SEC. 2. GREAT LAKES OFFICE.

       (a) Establishment.--The Under Secretary may establish and 
     maintain within the Administration a Great Lakes Office in 
     the Washington, District of Columbia area.
       (b) Purpose.--The purpose of the Great Lakes Office shall 
     be to promote and coordinate Administration research, 
     monitoring, and assessment work in the Great Lakes region 
     consistent with the goals of the Great Lakes Water Quality 
     Agreement.
       (c) Director.--The Director of the Great Lakes Office shall 
     be an individual with extensive knowledge and expertise in 
     the Great Lakes ecosystem, and with appropriate 
     administrative experience.

     SEC. 3. GREAT LAKES REPORT.

       (a) Contents.--Subject to the availability of 
     appropriations under section 5 of this Act, the Under 
     Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the Great 
     Lakes Office if established, shall prepare and submit to 
     Congress an annual Great Lakes Report. The Report shall 
     provide information relating to Great Lakes ecosystem 
     research, monitoring, and assessment, including--
       (1) the individual activities, projects, or proposals 
     conducted by the Administration in the previous fiscal year, 
     including a summary of funds expended in support of these 
     activities, projects, or proposals;
       (2) the amount of funds received from the Administration by 
     each State or local government unit bordering the Great 
     Lakes;
       (3) the amount of funds received by individuals or 
     institutions residing or located within a State bordering the 
     Great Lakes;
       (4) an inventory of Administration facilities and personnel 
     located in a State bordering the Great Lakes or in the Great 
     Lakes used to conduct or support Administration-funded 
     activities, projects, or proposals in the Great Lakes, 
     including vessels;
       (5) the proposed Administration activities, projects, and 
     proposals to benefit the Great Lakes ecosystem for the 
     current fiscal year, including requested funds; and
       (6) a proposal for increasing the presence of the 
     Administration in the Great Lakes, and improving the 
     coordination of research within the Administration and with 
     other entities, including the Government of Canada.
       (b) Deadline.--Subject to the availability of 
     appropriations under section 5 of this Act, the Under 
     Secretary shall submit the Great Lakes Report to Congress by 
     October 1 of 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998.

     SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act--
       (1) the term ``Administration'' means the National Oceanic 
     and Atmospheric Administration;
       (2) the term ``Great Lakes'' means--
       (A) Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Lake Ontario, and 
     Lake Superior;
       (B) their connecting waters, including the St. Marys River, 
     the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River, and 
     the Niagara River; and
       (C) the St. Lawrence River;
       (3) the term ``Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement'' means 
     the bilateral agreement between the United States and Canada 
     which was signed in 1978 and amended by the Protocol of 1987; 
     and
       (4) the term ``Under Secretary'' means the Under Secretary 
     of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.

     SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       There is authorized to be appropriated to the Under 
     Secretary to carry out this Act $100,000 for each of the 
     fiscal years 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Massachusetts [Mr. Studds] will be recognized for 20 minutes, and the 
gentleman from Texas [Mr. Fields] will be recognized for 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Studds].
  Mr. STUDDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. STUDDS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. STUDDS. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1394 was introduced by Mr. Stupak to 
establish, within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
[NOAA], a Great Lakes Office in the Washington, DC area.
  One may ask why a Great Lakes Office in Washington, DC? Would not 
Kalamazoo be better? In a word, no. The purpose of this office would be 
to promote and coordinate activities of national programs that conduct 
research, monitoring, and environmental assessment in the Great Lakes 
region. These programs at NOAA and other agencies are managed from the 
national capitol area. The bill also requires an annual report to 
Congress on NOAA activities in the Great Lakes.
  This bill unanimously passed the Merchant Marine and Fisheries 
Committee last week, and I urge the House to adopt it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FIELDS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. FIELDS of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and 
extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FIELDS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in qualified support of this 
bill.
  While I concede that the Great Lakes are a tremendous national and 
international resource--almost on a par with the Gulf of Mexico--I do 
not feel that a Washington, DC-based regional office to coordinate and 
promote the Great Lakes work of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration [NOAA] is necessary.
  When Congressman Bob Davis introduced an identical measure in 1991, I 
understand he was expressing his frustration that NOAA had failed to 
establish a Great Lakes Research Office as required under section 118 
of the Clean Water Act. However, NOAA established this office in 
January 1993, at the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in 
Ann Arbor. Therefore, the need for the office is much less pressing.
  I also question the costs involved. The President's fiscal year 1995 
budget cuts NOAA's coastal and ocean programs significantly. In fact, 
two programs specific to the Great Lakes, the Great Lakes Environmental 
Research Laboratory and the National Sea Grant College zebra mussel 
initiative, are sliced by over $3.6 million. I think our first priority 
is to restore these programs and ensure that valuable research, 
environmental assessment, and navigation aids continue in the Great 
Lakes. The money would be better spent there than on desks and paper 
clips in Washington, DC.
  However, the version of the bill reported from the Merchant Marine 
and Fisheries Committee is much improved. It leaves to the NOAA 
Administrator the decision to establish a Great Lakes Office. This is 
an appropriate exercise of executive authority. In addition, the 
detailed NOAA Great Lakes report to Congress is now subject to 
appropriations and limited to 4 years. Given the proliferation of 
reporting requirements, and NOAA's spotty track record for producing 
timely and useful reports, I believe these are fair limitations.
  With these changes, I ask my colleagues to support H.R. 1394 as 
reported by the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries.
  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1394, a bill 
to improve the coordination of National Oceanographic and Atmospheric 
Administration Great Lakes activities. I would like to thank the House 
leadership, as well as Chairmen Ortiz and Studds, for moving 
expeditiously to have this bill considered in the Subcommittee on 
Oceanography, the full Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, and 
finally on the floor of the House.
  H.R. 1394 would create a Washington, DC,-based NOAA Great Lakes 
office to coordinate and promote Great Lakes activities within NOAA. 
The creation of such an office would improve NOAA's credibility with 
the Great Lakes scientific and resource management communities and 
provide a much needed focus on the unique aquatic environmental 
problems confronting the Great Lakes. Other agencies such as the 
Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
have such coordinating offices for the Great Lakes. Given NOAA's 
important role in the basin, I believe the creation of such an office 
is long overdue.
  The Great Lakes region faces a number of important challenges which 
require direct attention. These problems include toxic pollution of the 
water, contaminated sediments, fish and wildlife abnormalities, 
fluctuating water levels, and the infestation of exotic aquatic species 
such as sea lamprey, zebra mussels and the European ruffe.
  The moneys associated with this proposal are minimal and the benefits 
that would result from enactment of this bill are substantial. Mr. 
Speaker, it is time for the Great Lakes to receive the attention they 
deserve. I urge the House to pass H.R. 1394 and allow NOAA to more 
efficiently tackle the problems that confront the Great Lakes.
  Mr. ORTIZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to revise and extend 
my remarks.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1394, the NOAA Great Lakes Improvement Act, 
authorizes NOAA to establish a Great Lakes office in Washington. The 
purpose of this office would be to promote and coordinate Federal 
research, monitoring, and assessment work in the Great Lakes region. 
The bill also directs NOAA to submit to Congress an annual report 
providing information relating to Great Lakes ecosystem research, 
monitoring, and assessment.
  I have worked closely on this matter with the author of the bill, Mr. 
Stupak, and I want to commend the gentleman for his spirit of 
cooperation in this regard, and I urge my colleagues to support the 
bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. FIELDS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. STUDDS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Studds] that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1394, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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